I was taking photos of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove, NS, when I heard a joyous stampede behind me. A youth group visiting the cove were given the green light to race across the rocks toward the light house. It was one of those “I know this could be a good photo but I don’t know why” moments, so I just started shooting randomly. It didn’t turn out as good as I’d hoped, but I do remember how happy the kids were.

I saw not one but two seagull fights yesterday. One was in St. John, and the other in a little harbor town forty miles away. This leads me to believe that gulls do more than just glide passively in front of sunsets. I missed the first fight because I had my shutter speed set too fast for some reason, and almost missed this one because I couldn’t focus fast enough. I mostly got it.

I like this scene because it’s clear they’re fighting over a fish. Not sure if Gull No. 1 stole Gull No. 2’s prize, or if Gull No. 2 was just being a jerk.

Saint John seems like a decent place. The Canadian port city became a new home for several thousand Loyalists who either bailed on the U.S. after the Revolution or were simply told to GTFO for fighting on the wrong side. There are signs of this Pro-UK feel here and there around town, including a framed print of a redcoat that I saw in a shop.

Gulf of St. Lawrence, looking west from cliffs west of Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia

It rained for about half of the first part of our trip. Then, on Wednesday, it stopped during our circuit of Cape Breton Island. Just in time, too, since we’d just hit the good part of our drive on the Cabot Trail.

Much of the water that I saw on Nova Scotia this week—standing or flowing—was stained deep brown. Part of this may have been from the torrential rain on our first day, but from what I’ve read, the old, marshy soil just makes the water that way. It made this brook look like it was fed by some gigantic Coke fountain.

I’m trying to get better at identifying “The Magic Hour,” supposedly the time in the morning and evening when the sun is low and makes for pretty picture-takin. We were out walking around the town of Baddeck after dinner, and noticed the clouds breaking up for the first time all trip. The lake shore had been gray and dreary up to then. But I caught a flash of orange from the lake, and rushed down to see if things were any better and they were.

The “blurry waterfall” pictures always look better in your head when you’re planning them out. Then you get home, find out how overexposed everything is, and notice all the dead vegetation. I do like the little swirls in the water.